Summoner
by Jen-san
Summary: Garnet wonders about the limits of Atomos' dimension-transporting abilities and decides to do a little experiment that could land the gang in a lot of trouble...rated PG13 for swearing and it should be noted that I'm using horses instead of Chocobos.
1. Return

Author's note - This is my first try at any writing for FF – so I hope you like it! (And if you don't that's not my problem, now is it?) R&R! Like I said, e-mail me about anything that is inconsistent with the series. Sounds strange, but I've never actually PLAYED the game…O.o

Yeah…it's best just…not to ask…

**Act 1: Return**

Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th sat absently brushing her long, jet-black hair. It was late afternoon, and her eyes moved to her necklace when a ray of sunlight caught the corner of the pendant, making it sparkle and shortly command her attention.

Something was going to happen…soon.

"Dagger?"

The queen whirled around abruptly, breathing a sigh of relief at Zidane's familiar mop of dirty blonde hair before returning her gaze to her vanity.

He came to stand behind her, arms folded behind his head and a distant grin on his face, "You know…you really don't need to brush your hair…you'd look amazing no matter what you did with it."

Garnet felt a smile tug at her lips and a blush tint her cheeks as she turned to face him, expression angelic and innocent as she batted her eyes like a little girl, the whole picture too sweet to be anything but a tease, "Yes of course, but you WOULD think that."

"Speaking of which…what were _you_ thinking about?"

"Hmm?"

"Before…what were you thinking about? I was watching for about a minute."

A slight smile as she balanced her head on her hand, making the diamond on her finger sparkle, "Why not? I was thinking about Atomos, if you want to know the truth."

"Eh…?" the fact that she had Zidane's interest was obvious.

"I was wondering…" Garnet mused, putting her brush down and turning fully to face him, "Do people really die…or do they just go to another dimension? And if so…could Atomos reach that dimension?"

Zidane blinked, "Geez…you REALLY think about the most random things sometimes, Dagger…"

She mock-pouted, "Oh…shut up! You were the one who asked, weren't you?"

"You saying I brought it on myself?"

"Naturally," she winked.

Zidane shook his head, chuckling, and rose, ruffling her hair affectionately and grinning at her before disappearing onto the balcony.

Garnet smiled after him, then returned to her hair. The thought was still turning over in her mind as she watched her reflection. She did not quite understand why it was bothering her so much. Her dark, amber eyes wandered to the crystal hanging from her neck once more as it glinted, reflecting the waning sun.  So much had changed over the past two years since that day when she had met Zidane…she flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder and examined it.  It was now worn down, without the tie at the bottom, mainly because Zidane liked it better this way and it wasn't often she let him get what he wanted as far as her appearance was concerned.  Over the past two years, she herself had not changed much physically except for the fact that the years had taken some of the girlish roundness out of her face.  Of course, the responsibilities of being queen had also taken their toll on her maturity and therefore her appearance.  Her eyes had lost their childish glint, which a kinder, wiser gaze replaced.  Her poise had improved, and now more than ever, she walked erect, with her shoulders thrust back.

She wasn't the only one who had changed, either; Zidane's speech, at least in public, had improved, as had his physique and dress code.  Although he now lived in the palace, he continued to wander and show up at strange times.  She smiled at the ring on her finger – the ultimate display that he had lost interest in all other women besides her.  Eiko had taken her rightful place as princess of Lindblum and Garnet's official cousin.  Freya had wandered off on her own accord and would pop up now and then; as would Lani, although the bounty hunters visits were, not surprisingly, more frequent since Amarent had taken to wandering around Alexandria.  Beatrix and Steiner had, of course, stayed and continued their work in the Alexandrian army, which now had a new commander in chief.  She was a young noblewoman of about twenty-four by the name of Lady Seraphim Valkairy, a known warrior and a talented falconer, but distrusted because of her strange resemblance to Kuja – short-cropped, feathery, silver hair, blue-violet eyes, tall, with a pale complexion and a slight, beautiful figure that masked her formidable strength.  Both of Seraphim's parents were dead, her father at a happy old age and her mother when Seraphim was young of causes the commander refused to discuss with the queen.  Garnet was aware of what had happened, but only through Beatrix.

The queen gave her head a shake, attempting to clear her mind as she rose in one fluid motion and checked her appearance a final time before turning to stride out of the room.

***

She had to know.

She _had to know_.

Her pale silver dress gave off a hiss as she strode purposefully down the hall.

She was going to a place she hated.

She was going the palace library. 

If she could find it anywhere, Garnet was sure she would find it there. Flinging the huge double doors back, the queen glanced around at the tall shelves of books that filled the room's two floors. The library was enormous, standing about 60 feet high with its two floors filled to the brim with books on every subject you could possibly imagine. She lifted herself onto the "E" shelf's rolling ladder, sitting down on the rung next to the section providing material on Eidolons. She promptly selected the largest book of the bunch, chewing lightly on her forefinger as she thumbed through it. It didn't take long for her to find a detailed enough profile on Atomos.

Atomos   Amethyst 

_Not usually selected for combat, this Eidolon has the unique ability to transport its summoner or its summoner's attacker through dimensions. No plane is unreachable to this beast – it can transport anything to anywhere in the cosmos. Standing approximately 55 feet tall, Atomos is an impressive sight to see, and its power derives from the wind._

Garnet stared at the page.

_No plane is unreachable to this beast._

She wondered if the person who wrote the book had any idea of the question in her mind. She returned the book to its place and hopped from the ladder. She had to talk to Zidane about this…

***

"Wait wait wait…" Zidane held his hands up, his expression incredulous, "I don't think I understand…you were reading a book and now you think that Atomos can somehow transport us to wherever dead people go – that right?"

"Exactly!"

Zidane raised an eyebrow, "…And you want to test this out…?"

"Yes!"

"And you don't think there's the slightest bit of danger involved in doing this…?"

"Right!"

Zidane sat down, his face plainly illustrating disbelief, "Dagger…I think you've gone insane…we're talking about…" he sighed, trailing off and shaking his head, "Is being queen getting to you or something? This is the craziest damn thing I've ever heard!" he paused, considering that statement for a moment, "…From you, that is…"

Garnet smirked, "I don't know…you seemed pretty surprised when I came with you willingly in the beginning of our adventure…"

"I guess…" Zidane's gaze locked with hers, "But you could get hurt!"

The brunette folded her arms, "I could have gotten hurt before. Listen, I don't know what will happen if I do this…but I just have to know if it works and what the result is if it does. The curiosity is killing me."

A sigh, "Dagger…"

"Zidane…"

He was defeated. "Fine…but if you do this, you HAVE to let me help you. Understand?"

Garnet threw her arms around him, causing the blonde to flush, "Of course!" she smiled, moving to sit beside him and take one of his hands and planting a kiss on his cheek, "I'd love to have you help me."

Her companion scratched the back of his head, seeming unsure of how to respond, "Thanks…" he said finally.

She flashed Zidane another smile and rose, "Then its settled! If I summon Atomos and don't intend it for combat, it shouldn't start sucking in everything around it…but just to make sure, I'm going to have the bookshelves boarded up, so why don't you meet me in the library at noon tomorrow? Nobody ever goes into it and its built in a circle formation, so there's a huge empty space in the center."

"Sounds like a plan…god, its weird to think of you in a library…"

"Oh, shut up!" a grin.

***

Zidane paced the library, trying to convince himself that this was crazy.

It wasn't working.

Somehow…despite the horrible outcomes the little experiment might have, he was just as curious as Garnet seemed to be.

"Zidane!"

He turned to see the brunette girl striding briskly towards him, waving a piece of amethyst and carrying her staff, "I got it! Are you ready to see if this will work?"

Zidane grinned, "Ready as I'm gonna get, your majesty."

Garnet shot him a cheeky look as she came to a stop, then nodded, raising her staff as she began the summons. In a vibrant flash of light, Atomos loomed over them - calm, cold eyes scanning its surroundings. Finally, its gaze rested on Garnet and the beast watched her, patiently awaiting instruction.

"Atomos," Garnet stepped forward confidently, "I want you to tell me if you can transport me to the dimension where the souls of those who die here are transported to."

The Eidolon regarded her for a moment; then nodded slowly.

The queen's aura of total calm didn't fade for a moment, "Please…open the porthole to that dimension for me."

With another nod, Atomos' doorway began to glow and splinter with electricity. The colors danced – from red to pink, from pink to violet, and from violet to blue. Finally, a dark shape began to form in the center of the doorway.

Zidane came to stand closer to Garnet, "What the hell…? Is that…supposed to happen…?"

She shook her head slowly, "I have no idea, Zidane…"

The blonde's tail swished in obvious agitation and he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, "Dammit - then I'm not taking any chances," he drew the Ultima Weapon as he stalked forward, "Run if and when I tell you to – got that?"

She nodded, seeming transfixed by the figure forming in the doorway.

"DAGGER!"

Zaidane's yell seemed to come too late as Garnet felt her body come into forceful contact with a significantly larger, more muscular form. Zidane's lightning fast move toward the wall to catch her in the crook of his left arm was the only thing that saved her neck from being broken.

"Are you okay?" the concern in Zidane's voice was obvious.

Garnet nodded, catching her wind again, "I'm…fine…don't worry," she smiled weakly up at him, "Thanks, Zidane…"

The smile he gave her in return was stronger, "Don't mention it…" his eyes narrowed as his attention turned to the silver-haired figure that was sprawled on the floor, groaning slightly. Zidane put her down and flung the black cloak she handed him over it as he slowly moved towards the figure, only to be startled when it rolled over and its glowing, green-blue pupils contracted in initial shock as all of its attention went to the Ultima Weapon in Zidane's hands.

"Cloud?!"

Zidane blinked in confusion, looked down at his sword, and blinked again. He looked up, finding the top of the library set with a huge skylight. He pointed to one of the white formations floating up above, "Yeah yeah…cloud!"

"But you have his…" the man trailed off, giving his head a shake and frowning, "Never mind." He finished arranging the dark robe so that it hung about him decently, "Where am I?" he had begun, it appeared, to take in his surroundings, but still seemed transfixed by the blade Zidane held.  His long, silver hair splayed over the floor.  His eyes were trillium shaped, and his complexion was light.  Although he seemed naturally slight, what must have been warrior training had given him muscular, but lean, build.

Zidane gently put down the Ultima Weapon and crouched so that his blue eyes were level with the stranger's green ones. He cocked his head to one side, his curiosity whetted, "Welcome to the planet Gaia. Guess you didn't live around here…who are you?"

He ran a hand through his strangely colored hair as he continued to look about, "My name…is…"

"Yeah…?"

"Sephiroth…"


	2. Ex-Turk

**Act 2: Ex-Turk**

The figure sat, its features distorted by the shadows in which it had shrouded itself. It was almost dawn over the small Alexandrian city, but already shopkeepers were busying themselves preparing for the day ahead.

What paltry, insignificant characters…

A sneer seemed to come to the lips of the creature as it sat, hidden by the overhang of a church. In that spot, even its faintly glowing, golden eyes would have been undetectable unless deliberately looked for. The eyes narrowed as it watched the people mill about. None of them were summoners.

No…

Of course not.

Not one of them worth a split second of its time. Of the summoner race there probably only remained the little shit who had summoned Atomos…but even that one would be exterminated soon; that one along with all the others that might remain. The creature extended its wings, each one larger than its body, and with a great whoosh of wind rose into the sky, displaying against the fading stars its draconic form.

The display raised cries of, "Monster!" from the people, causing the creature to turn once more, fixing them with a cold glare before opening its mouth only slightly. A tornado of fire unleashed from its jaws - engulfing the church in flames, which glinted off a pendant it wore around its neck.

Remember it well, fools…that was only a taste of my power.

So thinking, the creature flew off.

***

Sephiroth watched the sun rise on the first full day of what he considered his re-birth. He could only remember pain from his old home – but here, with people who knew him for what he was now, he felt…almost happy. No more Jenova…no more Hojo…

No more pain.

It seemed as if he'd started a new life here…a life in which there was nothing to bother him or cause him unhappiness.

"Hey…Seph?"

Except, of course, for that.

The silver haired man turned, frowning, to see Zidane standing behind him in the doorway, "Hmmm?"

He pointed to Sephiroth's glowing, green eyes, "Your eyes are weird."

"No…yours are weird. Mine are perfectly normal."

Zidane blinked – that always got them.

"Anyway…" Sephiroth fixed his gaze on the younger blonde, "You've only known me for…half a day before I came out of…whatever it was…and your already using a nickname?"

"Well…ya get used to it…" Zidane's eyes widened, "Wait! Whatever it was?! ATOMOS!" 

"Huh…?"

"Garnet! She forgot to…" Zidane was yelling over his shoulder as he bolted off, "Shut it off! Make it go poof! Put it away! Un-summon it! Whatever she does with those things when she's finished with them! I'm going to the library!"

"…"

Sephiroth shook his head in confusion.

"…?"

***

Beatrix frowned over the sheet of paper she held loosely in her right hand.

"What is it?" Stiener glanced casually at her from his spot by the window.

"A dragon…or something…in a village not far from here.  Apparently, it destroyed a church before flying off.  I think we should tell the queen."

The older warrior shook his head, "It's quite early…I imagine she's up, but I don't imagine she wants to think about things like this.  Be patient, Beatrix."

"Well…the reports here have the dragon described very similarly to when – well, you should remember that."

Stiener winced, "Beatrix…"

"Should we tell her – I'm not talking about Garnet."

"It'll be a little tough on her…but I think we should.  Maybe she can sort this all out."

The brunette nodded, "And it IS our duty to relay her all the reports we receive…"

"Right – but you do the talking."

Beatrix smirked and rolled her eyes, "You are SO immature! She doesn't bite!"

Before Stiener could come up with a witty comeback, his partner had waltzed out of the room.

***

About an hour later, Sephiroth's curiosity got the better of him. Given, he didn't fully understand the situation in the first place (Zidane's brief analysis earlier hadn't been much help). Having watched the sun complete its assent, he turned, and headed for the library – new boots ringing against the marble.

"…u've got to be KIDDING me!" Sephiroth vaguely heard Garnet say something in reply, then got to the door in time to see Zidane throw his hands in the air in defeat, "Fucked," he sighed, sliding to the ground and slapping his thighs with his hands, "We're fucked."

"What's going on here?"

The two looked slightly startled at his entrance, and the queen sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Zidane jabbed an accusing thumb in the brunette's direction, "Garnet didn't shut Atomos off."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "Oh yes…and from the looks of THIS place," he regarded the perfectly arranged library with a sweeping motion of his hand, "It's caused MASS destruction to the ENTIRE planet."

"Not yet," Garnet drew a breath, "But it won't be long."

"Someone care to explain…?" the silver haired man folded his arms.

Garnet looked pleadingly at Zidane, whose reaction was to raise his arms in front of his face and shake his head. With another sigh, the black haired girl turned back to Sephiroth, "Do you know what a summoner is?"

"I have a guess – they summon monsters."

She nodded, "That's what I thought…a young girl named Eiko Caroll and I are the last of the race. Here, the monsters are called Eidolons – I don't know if it was the same where you came from – and one of them, Atomos, has the ability to send its summoner through dimensions."

"I don't mean to be rude…but this DOES have a point, doesn't it, your majesty?" he had raised his eyebrow again but on his face was a playful smirk.

Garnet smirked back, rolling her eyes and waving a dismissive and slightly annoyed hand, "Of course it does. You see, I got curious about the limits of Atomos' power, so I summoned it to send me to the…lifestream, did you call it? That's right. Anyway, in the confusion of you almost _breaking my neck_," at this point, she turned to glare in Zidane's general vicinity, "I FORGOT to dismiss it and I'm almost positive something came out."

Sephiroth frowned, "I see the problem…"

The queen bit her lower lip, "And if this thing…or things…is or are stronger than us…" she sighed.

"What would you do?"

"I'm gonna be frank about this…Seph," Zidane grinned, showing his fangs, in reply to the scowl, "Will you help us fight whatever it is?"

A pause, "…Yes."

"Really?" the blonde perked noticeably.

Sephiroth nodded, "But what if I'm not enough?"

"We'll open a porthole to your world and bring a person of your choice out," her majesty raised a slender eyebrow as if to say, 'What do you think of THAT?'

The ex-general nodded once more, considering her words. Who could he ask them to bring…? Cloud? No. One thing for sure – he could never face Cloud again. What was her name – Yuffie? Definitely not. From what he'd seen, Stiener and Zidane would be pushed into competition with her from the first minute. Tifa? That didn't make sense…it was doubtful Garnet and she would mesh well, let alone her and Beatrix. Then he remembered a name he'd heard Cloud call out in the last battle…either to stand back or to watch out…he couldn't remember. That was the only answer. "I have an idea of someone I could stand to face again."

"Oh?" the library's only female occupant looked relieved.

"Valentine."

It was Zidane's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Valentine," Sephiroth repeated, nodding, "Vincent Valentine. I imagine he can help you…but be careful with him. All I know about him is his name. He may not be the talking type - and Zidane, you are NOT to call him 'Vinny-boy', 'Vinny', 'Vincey', or any other idiot nickname you can dream up – understand?"

"Party pooper…"

OOC – That was for you, Cait! ^_____________^ Hope ya like!


	3. Angel

**Act 3: Angel**

Once more, Atomos loomed over the library. The only difference this time was that Sephiroth stood beside Zidane just to the rear of Garnet – the sword that he had managed to pry away from Steiner, Excalibur II, hanging at his waist. 

With his suggestion of Vincent, she had wasted no time in performing the summons. It was now only two hours later than it had been when Sephiroth had come into the library out of curiosity and discovered Garnet's mistake. The silver haired warrior's dully glowing eyes moved between Garnet and the Eidolon standing before them as a dark spot began to take shape in Atomos' frame. He guessed that was Vincent. The shape began to grow rapidly until features could be made out. Long, elegantly waving hair…a cloak…an oddly shaped hand…and boots. 

Zidane moved closer to Garnet as he watched; tail swishing behind him. 

It didn't take long for Vincent to come flying out of Atomos, but this time the entrance was much less dramatic. The Ex-Turk tumbled to the floor, coughing. Zidane glanced questioningly at Sephiroth, who nodded and stepped forward with a sigh.

"Vincent…?" 

"Nnngh…" the dark haired man began to rub his head and rise to his knees without opening his eyes, "What happened…?" 

"Open your eyes." 

Vincent opened one elongated red eye then quickly opened the other one, for once staring in disbelief, "Sephiroth…" 

"In the flesh." 

"I've died in my sleep…" the raven haired man said slowly, "And gone…to hell?" 

Sephiroth sighed, "Fortunately not. This isn't hell…but it isn't heaven either. You aren't dead, Vincent…in fact…" he checked Vincent over – virtually unscathed, "You're far from it." 

Zidane grinned, "Welcome to Gaia." 

"I don't think I'm quite understanding this…" Vincent frowned, glancing for a moment at Zidane before returning his attention to Sephiroth, "I have four questions." 

"All right – lets hear them," Sephiroth moved into a sitting position on the floor. 

"First one…who is he?" the ex-Turk pointed to Zidane, and then to Garnet, "Next…who is she? Next…why am I here? Last one…why the hell are you being so nice all of a sudden? I've never seen…this side of you before. I was under the impression that you were an insane killer – although I have no idea whatsoever where I get that notion." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the warrior sitting across from him to answer. 

"The first two are easy…the young man over there is Zidane. The girl is Queen Garnet. She would be the one who summoned you here. In answer to your third question, the two of them asked me to select someone to bring here in order to help them defeat…something. Garnet doesn't quite know what it is yet, but she thinks its bad and I was worried I wouldn't be enough to stop it." 

Vincent's eyebrow raised even further and his expression grew incredulous. 

"That thing," Sephiroth continued, pointing to Atomos, "Is an Eidolon…from what I've heard, that's what they call Weapons here. It summoned you. Now…for your last question, the reason I'm being so nice is because I'm _not insane. _When I died, Jenova broke the control she had over me because, obviously, there was no longer any reason for it, understand now?" 

"Yes…but I'm just supposed to believe this? How did you get here?" 

The green eyed man glanced over at Garnet, "She decided to test Atomos' full potential, so she asked it to connect her to the Lifestream and I came out. When she forgot to dismiss it, something ELSE came out of the Lifestream as well. That would be where the problem arose. Vincent, look at me and tell me what you see." 

Vincent blinked at Sephiroth's slightly random request, but did as he was told. Currently, he didn't have much of a choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt. He sighed, and then looked directly into the glowing green eyes of his…former… enemy. He frowned upon seeing something there he had never seen in Sephiroth's face before. 

"What do you see?" 

"I see…a respected warrior…" Vincent frowned, searching his eyes, "Your not the person I fought two years ago." 

"Will you trust me?" 

"Well…" the ex-Turk rose to his feet in a single, fluid motion and folded his arms, "We'll see. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Now…" he took a deep breath and turned to Zidane and Garnet, "Do you have anything else for me to work with? As long as I'm here the only logical thing to is to help you out." 

"Your majesty?" Beatrix peeked in through the door, winked and smiled at Vincent when he glanced in her direction, and turned once more to Garnet, her expression growing serious. "About what happened with Atomos…I've discovered something that may relate to it." 

"Oh?" 

"I…told the Lady already. She was pretty upset…" 

Garnet nodded slowly, "I'm assuming a report was filed…?" 

The brunette nodded, "You got it – here. It came this morning, but I didn't want to tell you about it so early. Edward thought you probably wouldn't appreciate thinking about things like that when you'd just gotten up," she flashed a fatigued smiled and shrugged, "I took his advice. Oh – she wants to talk to you at the soiree tonight." 

"That's right…I almost forgot about it…" Garnet glanced at Zidane, who was reading over her shoulder. 

"A soiree?" Vincent looked inquisitive, "What for?" 

Zidane answered him absently while continuing to read, "Aah…yearly thing. Big important people come from big important places and get to see each other," he chuckled at Garnet's jab, and glanced at Vincent with a grin, "No…actually, its just a friendly little tradition. Every year the Alexandrian rulers invite all the royals and nobles from the four countries that make up the world. It's big…its fancy…and we'll get to see some old friends again. Hey, Dagger…this doesn't look so good." 

She nodded, "I know…I understand why she was upset now." 

"So what are the chances this IS the same one as before? I mean, it DID get killed…" 

The queen shuddered, "Not good, I hope. For her sake and ours."

For the first time in about ten minutes, Sephiroth spoke, "What's going on?" 

Garnet brushed a lock of hair out of her face, "A dragon was spotted in a village not too far from here. The description given in the report was similar to…well, you don't have to know about that."

Zidane frowned, "I never noticed that before…" 

"Noticed what?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. 

"Noticed how much you really do look like…Kuja…and he looks so much like her…" 

"Who is HER?" 

"HER is Seraphim," the blonde grinned, "Commander-In-Chief of the Alexandrian army. I just noticed the two of you look a lot alike…same thing with Kuja – but that's something else you don't need to know about. It's a really long story." 

The silver-haired man nodded, "I see…" 

"Yeah…and we'd better get you changed…" Zidane regarded Sephiroth's long, Arabic-style open blue trench coat, tight, high collared blue shirt and black, leg fitting pants, "You don't really want to wear that to this…" he glanced at Vincent's dark ensemble, "You don't really want to wear that, either…" 

"…" 

"…" 

*** 

The creature glided easily through a mountain range that continued to shroud it in shadows. Each peak was enormous, and any one of them would probably have killed anyone who attempted to climb. Finally, it landed on a small plateau and turned towards the mouth of a cave, folding its wings so that fitting through would be easier.

It made its way down the cave's corridor, glancing around now and then and nodding in satisfaction. This place obviously hadn't been found.

But then, what idiot human would be able to?

At the center of the room, in the stone floor, was drawn a circle, lined with ancient runes. It stood in the center on its haunches, finally stepping into the light. 

On each of the dragon's massive wings were three silver claws, making them seem like second hands. It had two, reptilian talons extending from its four paws and a helm covered its face except for its eyes. Its body was entirely black and its eyes glowed like a pair of golden coals. It started to speak, its voice unmistakably feminine, although deep. The tongue in which the dragoness spoke was unrecognizable by any means as she recited something that seemed strangely familiar to her. 

_"…Ume anio…illias ume-nadé…" _

Each of the orbs began to glow as she continued to speak, shining more brightly with each word. 

_"…Um, aum, iria…"_

A ball of light formed beside each of the orbs, and they stopped glowing. 

_"…Garm…Loki…BloodRuby…Krishna…Vishnu…"_

Five of the sphere's began to form themselves into animals – one, a huge wolf closely resembling Fenrir, another a mounted man that looked like Odin, the third resembling Carbuncle, and the last two resembling Ramuh and Shiva. 

_"…Ionite…Salamander…Titan…Behemoth…Rok…"_

Another five of the spheres did the same as the first had, this time forming themselves into look-alikes of Atomos, Ifrit, Leviathan, Bahamaut, and Phoenix. Surprisingly, all the creatures fit nicely in the cave – not nearly as big as those they were modeled after. 

_"Fafner…Arch…" _

The last two orbs came to life, forming themselves into likenesses of Maduin and Ark. The two bowed, coming a little forward. 

"Mistress Tiamit…we have assembled." 

The dragoness smiled, showing her pointed, dagger like teeth. A black mist coiled up from the ground, encircling the reptilian monster. Her body glowed black and began to mutate. Her entire form became smaller, and her neck shortened, as did her forearms and torso. Her legs changed to that she walked upright and her wings were pulled into her back. Her face shifted, her muzzle fading into it and its entire shape changing. Finally, a patch of thick, waving black hair sprouted from her head and cascaded down to her rear.

In place of the dragon stood a beautiful, black haired, brown-eyed woman wearing a long, form hugging dress and snake jewelry. "Yes…" she said, smiling in satisfaction, "So I see."

*** 

"Let's see what we've got here…" 

Zidane closed one eye, moved a semi-circle away from his position, then closed the other eye. "Hmmmm…yeah…I like this better. That works…uh-huh. You're done." The ex-Turk had been dressed in a long, silvery-gray cape and his unruly raven locks had been significantly neatened. He wore a pair of high, spotless leather boots and a pair of black leggings could be picked out.

Vincent shook his head, "Thank you, your majesty." 

The blonde shot him a wide, toothy grin, "You're welcome!" He received a grunt in reply when Vincent remembered that he WAS practically the king. 

"All right…Sephy…you're next!" 

*** 

Steiner raised an eyebrow and Beatrix shrugged helplessly at the shriek followed by maniacal laughter and yelling that suddenly burst from the room Zidane was getting Sephiroth ready in. Steiner sighed, then shook his head and rubbed his temples. 

"Boys will be boys, I suppose," Beatrix giggled. 

Another grunt, "I'd appreciate that a whole lot more if it didn't involve loud noises and…" he winced at the sound of something expensive being shattered into a million pieces, "…breaking various valuable things…" he sighed helplessly, "Good lord…" 

*** 

After about a half hour, which left the room they had been in a disaster, Sephiroth and Zidane managed to walk down the hallway leading into the main ballroom. Zidane was still chuckling to himself, but Sephiroth was grumbling and his face was set in a firm frown. Apparently, the brawl earlier hadn't gone entirely his way, considering the intricately designed gold and black armor, embroidered with rubies and accompanied by a long, red cape he had been changed into. Vincent was walking behind them, a slight but distinct twinkle of amusement in his ruby coloured eyes. 

"Aww…c'mon, Seph…" Zidane laughed, but abruptly stopped when he saw Garnet, "Dagger!" the call wasn't particularly loud, and he shot a hand in the air to further insure her attention. 

She turned, laughing and clapping when she saw them, "I thought girls took longer than boys!" 

The blonde draped his arm around the older, silver haired ex-general at his side, "Hey…we were bonding!" 

Sephiroth snarled, and Garnet laughed once more, "Well, Seraphim is here…come on…I want the two of you to meet her. I think you'll get along," she trotted up the stairs to join them – neatly lifting her figure complimenting, rather long, elegant gold dress as she did so - and gestured the three to follow her. 

The queen began to lead them through the crowd towards the far wall. She lifted a hand in a signal for them to wait and went ahead, coming back a moment later dragging a young, silver haired woman of about 24 wearing a long black cape under which was a rather tight blue battle suit and a pair of high boots. A slim rapier-like blade hung at her side, a rendition of a unicorn beaten into its metal hilt. Her hair short and stopped at her jawline and her eyes were a striking violet. From her cheekbone to just below her jaw was a tattoo of a black medieval unicorn - her arms and the flat of her right hand were decorated with Celtic-style tribal markings. She seemed to have a liking for feathers as well, because her outfit was adorned with them, "Vincent…Sephiroth…this is the Lady Seraphim." 

Sephiroth blinked, She does look like me… 

"A pleasure to meet you," Vincent nodded and shifted his weight impatiently. 

"Likewise," Seraphim smiled briefly at him and then turned, raising a slender, questioning silver eyebrow when her gaze rested on Sephiroth, who hadn't said anything. 

He coughed, "You'll have to excuse me…Zidane told me you looked like me and it seems he was right. It's an honor, your ladyship – I'm very sorry.

She smiled and gave a bowing nod, brushing a lock of silvery hair out of her face, "No need to apologize. I understand." 

Zidane grinned, "I'm hurt…I don't think you believed me!" 

"Did I have any reason to…?" 

*** 

Tiamit smiled, her eyes closed as she lay quietly in a gigantic chamber deeper in the cave on what looked like a nest hovering in mid-air, cradling in her hands a purple-tinted orb, which crackled with electricity inside. A small entrance could be found at the far corner of the room. She was still in human form, although her pose was strikingly draconic.

A summoner…no…two or three… 

"Salamander." 

The fiery creature appeared in the doorway, its eyes locked on her as it awaited orders. 

"Go to the Alexandrian castle. There's something I want you to locate." A brief silence settled between the two, and then Salamander nodded slowly.

"As you command."


	4. Fire

Author's Note: Cait (and everyone, likely) – there's one thing in here that your probably going to take the wrong way. There will be NO romantic relationship between Kuja and the young lady I'm about to introduce. Any references to this are purely for humorous purposes.

*bows*

Thank you. ^^

Act 4: Fire 

A girl of about eighteen carefully picked her way around the roots of the Iifa tree, her face shadowed, but not hidden, by the white mage cloak she wore. She bore a striking resemblance to Garnet – but the obvious difference was her eyes, which stood out like a pair of pale blue opals under her hood.

She continued to walk, seeming to know exactly where she was going as she walked along a root with a commendable amount of balance. Finally, she came to a bulge in the root and knelt in front of it, uttering some indistinguishable words under her breath as she closed her eyes and placed her hand on it. As soon as her hand touched the tree's flesh, it began to melt – first around the palm and then working away until the entirety of the bulge had been eaten away…all except for a young man who lay unconscious, a trickle of blood caked to his chin which had oozed from the left corner of his crimson lip.

His hair was long, trailing down to his hips, and silver. His skin was a pale, creamy colour and totally flawless, as were the rest of his features. His eyes were closed, displaying nicely his long, dark eyelashes and his now torn garments showed his perfectly toned stomach.

I'm amazed… the girl's expression was slightly amused, He's as gorgeous as they said he was…

However, that wasn't important to her right now. What was important was getting the damned man awake. She'd have to use some kind of magic, considering he'd been in a cryo-sleep of sorts and was very unlikely to awake at a few forceful shakes.

All right…lets try…this one…

She closed her eyes and pointed a finger in the air, then placed it on his forehead. As she had, apparently, anticipated, he began to stir, and then his eyebrows and eyelids began to twitch in an obvious reluctance to awaken.

"Kuja…" she poked him, "Its time to open your eyes now…"

His face skewered into a frown, which marred his otherwise perfect features, "What are you trying to do…?"

"I'm trying to save the world. Now _get up_, you bastard."

Kuja chuckled ruefully, "Another one, huh?"  He opened one eye, grinned, and stretched. So doing, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair, "All right…I'm up. So…exactly who are you and what's going on?"

"My name is Sarah," she took a deep breath, "As for what I'm doing here…"

"Is this going to be a long description?"

"Yes."

"Do we have anywhere to go?"

"Yes."

"And that would be…?"

"Shopping – for you."

He pulled himself to his feet and motioned her to follow him, "Walk and talk."

***

"Something's not right…"

Seraphim turned, frowning, towards a large window.

"Like what?" Zidane raised an eyebrow and looked in the same direction.

"I don't know…" the silver haired commander shook her head, "But something just feels weird. I'm going to keep a sharp eye on the sky," she turned back to Sephiroth and Vincent, "Enjoy yourselves…don't let me get to you," she smiled, "I'm just doing my job."

Sephiroth laughed ruefully, "Worrying…of course. I did the same thing."

"Well, someone's got to."

"Seraphim…" Zidane turned to her, his expression getting more serious, "Let me know if anything happens – but no false alarms," he grinned, "I don't want to worry unless I have to."

Seraphim nodded absently, her hand moving to the rapier at her side.

***

Sarah walked along glancing at shops, Kuja following closely behind her and earning surprised stares from the people around them. Finally, the girl stopped in front of a store and took him by the arm, dragging him inside.

"Try…this, this…this, this, this…this…definitely this…this and this…yeah…this too…"

Kuja sweatdropped as a pile of clothes began mounting on his arms.

His companion glanced around, "I think that about does it…now go!" she shoved him towards a changing room and closed the curtains, "Try the blue thing first!"

"WHICH blue thing?"

"ANY blue thing!"

Kuja shook his head, "Remind me…how did I let you talk me into this…?" he pulled a pair of rather tight black pants on as he spoke.

"I'm manipulative!"

"Well…" he grumbled as he pulled on a loose, white, Elizabethan style shirt on, "Remind me never to do it again!" He continued to mutter to himself while he put on a blue vest with gold designs on it that looked almost like runes. Finally, Kuja pushed back the curtain and came out, folding his arms, "Well…?"

"It's you," she nodded, "Now try these!" she tossed a pair of high boots in his general direction.

"Unnnnnngh…"

"Don't give me that! You still need to try the red thing!"

"WHAT red thing?"

"OY! ANY red thing!"

The woman who obviously owned the store smiled, "That's so sweet…how long have the two of you been together?"

Simultaneously, both Kuja and Sarah raised eyebrows in total disbelief. Without changing her expression or position, Sarah snapped her fingers at Kuja.

"Go."

***

Seraphim continued to watch out of the huge skylight. Finally, she saw a very faint glow from over the nearest mountain range. That's what I'm looking for…

She dashed outside, in moments coming to sit on the roof.

Needless to say, she was surprised to see Vincent doing the exact same thing. He turned to her, his expression unreadable, "I take it you noticed as well…"

"Yeah…" she glanced back at the horizon, coming to sit next him, "Are you afraid?"

"No."

The commander nodded, drawing her knees up to her shoulders, "Good…do you have any idea of what it might be?"

"None whatsoever. But I do have a feeling it's only the beginning."

"An interesting direction for the soiree to take," Seraphim continued to scan the horizon and a comfortable silence settled between the two as they sat on the roof, a warm summer breeze making their hair dance.

After a few minutes, Vincent spoke, "What was your mother's name?"

"That's a very strange question, foreigner." The silver haired woman chuckled slightly.

He nodded, "I know…you…remind me of someone I used to know a while ago. That's all."

Seraphim smiled slightly, but didn't turn to him, "Her name was…" suddenly, her expression changed drastically, "There it is!"

Vincent was on his feet in a second, "Come on…we're telling the others."

"No, no, darling…" Seraphim smirked, "We're going to figure out what the hell this thing is."

"We can't get to it fast enough!"

The commander laughed, "Emphasis on 'we'." She raised her arm and whistled. In a matter of moments, a falcon-like bird came to land on her outstretched arm.

"Aaah...so you're a falconer?"

Seraphim nodded, "It's a hobby that's made me very useful to the army.  I'm a swordswoman and falconer by trade, you might say.  I might seem to have the answer to everything right now…but in this particular instance, everything seems to be falling in. Horus should be able to get us what we need."

Vincent folded his arms, looking out to where they had seen their foe, "If he doesn't get fried, that is…"

Seraphim had already released the bird from her arm, "He'd better not…he's my favourite."

"Oh – I'll pray for him."

***

A few minutes later, Horus returned, landing on Seraphim's arm and screeching.

"Some kind of Eidolon…" she turned to Vincent, frowning, "Horus says it looks like Ifrit, but…it couldn't be…"

"Ifrit…?"

"He's under the Queen's control…" Seraphim shaded her eyes, "It's getting close!"

The creature turned its head to look at them, grinning and opening its mouth.

"LOOK OUT!"

Vincent managed to push Seraphim out of the way just in time for the blast of fire to strike right where her abdomen had been.

Seraphim looked in total shock, "Not good…"

"I'll take care of this," Vincent cocked his gun, and as the creature leapt for the castle, he pulled the trigger. It fell back with a roar, wounded in the arm, and withdrew, shooting the ex-Turk a disbelieving glare.

"That was too easy…" Seraphim sat up and frowned.

Vincent nodded, "Stay sharp, your ladyship…"

The silver haired woman nodded, then jumped at a crash from within. There was a roar and a flash, and the creature was sent skidding out, blood oozing from its horn down to its chin as well as from its right arm…which seemed to have a nasty gash on it. This time, it seemed to take the hint and dashed off – but Seraphim saw an evil smirk on its face.

It was after something else… Seraphim looked after the creature thoughtfully, not realizing that the same thought was going through Vincent's head.

Zidane came out, folding his arms as he looked up at them and grinned, "I thought you were gonna WARN me!"

Garnet followed him off, glancing after the retreating Eidolon, "There was something different about that one…something…" she shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself as if suddenly chilled, "Evil…"

"We would have warned you…but we didn't know it would come back," Vincent glanced at Seraphim for confirmation, and she nodded.

"Who took care of it?"

Zidane turned his attention to Seraphim when she spoke, "Sephiroth did."

"He heard the…gunshot, did he call it?…and decided to be on guard," Garnet was still rubbing her arms as if cold, "We need to teach him how to use the Trace Mode."

Seraphim raised an eyebrow, "He doesn't know how…?"

Garnet shook her head, "Neither, I assume, does Vincent," she turned her gaze on him.  "He does, however, have a technique for something he calls Limit Break…" the queen shrugged, "Vincent? HAVE you ever heard of Trance Mode?"

"I've never heard of it before in my life…"

The commander sitting next to Vincent nudged him, "Well then, I guess its time you both got some good, old-fashioned Trance Mode lessons," she grinned.


	5. Enlightenment

Tiamit turned, looking up from her book as Salamander entered.  "Well…? Did you get what I wanted?"

The Eidolon nodded, "Yes, mistress…that girl…she's Sarah – the original Sarah.  I discovered the whereabouts of the clock as well."

"Excellent…" Tiamit's full, red lips curled into a smile, "Tell me privately."

Another silence passed between the two, and Tiamit nodded knowingly.  "So…her daughter…and now both of her son's have been re-awakened.  This is going very well if we can take advantage of it…excellent…."

Salamander nodded, "I am glad this pleases you."

Tiamit nodded once more, "Thank you…Salamander, you are dismissed.  Oh – and please tell Behemoth to be on call."

He bowed, and just before he withdrew his mistress seemed to change her mind.

"Deliver that message to Garm and Kali as well.  I'll want to see all three of them later."

"As you wish, mistress."

***

Vincent glanced around briefly, noticing Zidane talking to a small girl with purple hair who smiled and nodded when he apparently asked her something, at which point Zidane returned the smile and picked her up.  Vincent watched the two for a few moments, hoping Zidane would lead him to Sephiroth.  The hope was false – but Zidane did (unintentionally) pass by the exit Sephiroth was standing close to.  Vincent nodded – this was good.  He strode over to Sephiroth and placed a hand firmly on the silver haired man's shoulder, "We need to talk."

Sephiroth blinked.

"Its about you're mother."

***

Seraphim sat, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she toyed absently with an 'x' shaped ring resting on the knuckle of her forefinger.  It was set, in the center of the x, with a purple gem that matched the colour of her eyes perfectly.   She wore a long, white nightgown that offset her relatively dark skin and seemed too feminine on her – especially considering her elaborate tattoos.

"Tell me something."

The silver haired commander frowned, seeing nothing but a silhouette in the mirror.  She turned, recognizing Sephiroth in the doorway after squinting a bit at his figure.

He looked around, "Nice place."

"Thank you," she chuckled, motioning him to sit down in the bay window next to her vanity, "What can I do for you, Sephiroth?"

The ex-general sat, kicking one leg over the other and pointing to a vase of flowers that sat on her dresser.  "Why did you choose those flowers?"

Seraphim turned abruptly, looking intently at him, "They were my mother's favourites…"

"That's what I thought," Sephiroth continued to gaze at the bouquet, "I was…just talking to Vincent about my own mother – apparently, the two of them were involved at one time.  They were her favourite flowers as well."

Seraphim merely frowned – Sephiroth's reply was a slight smile.

He looked her up and down, feeling quite sure of the question to come.

"What are you getting at…?"

Sephiroth's intuition had proved good, "I thought you would have guessed by now – haven't you ever wondered why we look so much alike?"

"I'll ask you again…what are you getting at?" her eyes narrowed – not menacing, but in an expression that signified her inability to comprehend the riddles being placed before her -  until the light seemed to dawn and her eyes widened slightly, "You're suggesting that we might be related…"

"What was your mother's name?"

"Leucrecia…"

"Well – that's a surprise…" Sephiroth chuckled.

"Hmm?"

"My mother had the same name…the only thing I don't understand – how did she end up here?"

"They couldn't have been the same person, because my mother was a powerful Summoner," she lowered her head, "That's how she died…"

Her words seemed to catch Sephiroth's interest and he locked eyes sharply with her, "Explain?"

"It _is _true…" she turned to look in the mirror, "That before he died, my father told me that my mother hadn't always been here, even if she said she had.  He could tell…little things she did… mannerisms and quirks that suggested an off world being to him.  She…acted like a Terrian, he said.  A real one, if the accounts prove correct."

"A Terrian?"

Seraphim waved a dismissive hand, signifying that the explanation was trivial, "Creatures from another planet that died out and were replaced by others.  The others were brought here by Zidane and in a roundabout way, also by…" she frowned, "…Kuja…I'm not trusted around here because of the resemblance between myself and him.  I noticed some initial traits…but I never really noticed how much you look like him…"

Sephiroth smirked, "Zidane told me the same thing…but he wouldn't tell me who Kuja was – care to indulge me?"

"Certainly," she returned the cheeky look, "I can understand why he wouldn't want to go into that story…" she took a deep breathe, "All right…about…26 years ago, there was a scientist named Garland who lived on a planet called Terra.  Now, this planet's people were nearly extinct and this scientist wanted to recreate the population by creating powerful, soulless vessels called genomes.  The first genome he made was called Kuja…one of the only three harboring what can be called a soul.  Kuja was very strong – and very beautiful, but Garland wanted something better…something more perfect.  So he created a new genome, also with a soul, and called that genome Zidane – Kuja didn't like that, so he decided to get rid of Zidane and prove himself worthy.  Basically, he took the baby genome to a planet called Gaea…which you happen to be standing on…or close to standing on…and dropped Zidane there – literally, so that he contracted amnesia.  Once Kuja did that, he vowed to destroy the planet and Zidane – then left and returned to Terra.  God…there must have been hell to pay for that.  Meanwhile, Garland created the third soul-endowed genome and named her Mikoto…the purpose for this is still…unclear.  Anyway, Kuja found the planet and Zidane about 18 years later and tried to do what he'd sworn…billing himself as an arms dealer to the Queen's mother and piloting a ship called Invincible that had almost wiped out the Summoner race.  In the end, Zidane won him over and Kuja saved his 'brother' from the 'ravenous roots of the Iifa tree'," here, she made quotations with her hand and rolled her eyes to illustrate, "Which he himself was obsessed with waking up…Its like the tree of life, I guess.  It's commonly accepted that he died – but we don't know for sure."

"Hmmm…but if he's a genome…"

"Your ladyship," a creamy-skinned, well-shaped blonde peeked in, "A word?"

Seraphim nodded, "Go on."

"I've received reports from the outskirts of Alexandria City…people say Kuja's been wandering around the outskirt shopping district with a young girl who looks like the queen."

"Speak of the devil…"

"Your ladyship?"

Seraphim laughed and waved her hand, "Never mind…thank you, Clara…dismissed."

Clara walked out, and Sephiroth turned to Seraphim after watching her go, "You like doing that," he mimicked her dismissal wave.

"Huh – oh, that!" she waved her hand once more and gave a slight, complacent smile, "Yeah – its fun, a perk of being in charge, I guess."

Sephiroth chuckled, "Well, I guess that pretty much destroys the theory of Kuja being dead, doesn't it?"

"Guess so…"

***

"…Then bring her to me as fast as possible.  I would like Kuja as well, but if you are unable to bring him, I have something special planned…place this on him," she tossed Kali a small gem, "The three of you are free to bring the two back – alive – in any way you see fit, and don't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in the way."

"We understand," Kali, who seemed to be the unofficial leader of the three, placed her hands together in a prayer position, bowed slightly, and touched her fingers to her forehead.  The other two watched silently, and the three withdrew.

This was all _so easy!_

Tiamit sat back, her large, black dragon-wings stretched lazily although she was currently in human form, and smirked.  How convenient she had located all of the things she desired so quickly - but the girl would know…if not already, then very soon, that she had been awakened…

Oh yes…

She would know – but of course, it was too late.

Foolish humans.

***

Sarah looked up at the sky, nodding slowly at the setting sun, "It'll be dark soon, I suppose we'd best find somewhere to stay…" she turned to Kuja, "What do you think?"

"I suppose…" he folded his arms, "As long as you're paying."

"Why, naturally," the black-haired girl made herself look sarcastically angelic, taking him once more by the arm.

"Not funny."

"Wasn't supposed to be."

Kuja shook his head in confused amazement…there were some men in the world who seemed to have the female gender entirely figured out – he wasn't one of them and probably would never be; women, especially this Sarah, never ceased to mystify him to no end with their bizarre actions.

"Aha!" Sarah pointed up ahead, "An inn - come on!" she used the arm that was still attached to his to drag her companion in the direction she was pointing, "I'll do the talking."

"How convenient…" Kuja grinned, "I was never planning to."

"Baby…" Sarah rolled her eyes as her booted feet thudded against the wooden stairs.

"Goo goo gaa gaa," Kuja inserted his thumb firmly in his mouth and frowned purposefully.

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at that, "Just don't walk in looking like that…"

Of course, he never had a chance to defy that request, because at that moment, a lightning quick arm had snaked around his neck and a pair of powerful, taloned forearms plucked Sarah easily off of the ground before she could even scream.

"BITCH!" Kuja roared, trying to get whatever held him off by elbowing it hard – he HATED being grabbed around the neck…it was SO degrading.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" a pale blue finger was wagged in front of his face and the other hand held his arms fast, "Not good manners!"

Kuja continued to try and elbow his captor, "Does it HONESTLY look like I CARE?!"

A laugh, "More bad manners… will a broken arm teach you to behave?"

A young man came running out of the inn, a patch over one eye that covered some of his red hair and a sword in hand, "Don't think so…" he grinned.

"Maybe this make it more interesting…" the blue-armed creature flung Kuja back, revealing to his eyes that she was a arguably gorgeous blue woman – dressed entirely in a garb that would have been worn in ancient India.

Immediately following a dull thud as his body connected with the ground, Kuja felt his chest pressed down by a large blue paw, and a glance upward yielded the form of a huge, wolf-like animal that grinned horribly down at him.  He growled, struggling against its grip and wishing to god he had a sword.

The young man circled his opponent, eyes narrowing as he swung the blade around.

His opponent smirked, backed up, and jumped into the air; twirling as she moved her hands elaborately and began to sparkle.

The redhead barely managed to dodge the ice that came shooting towards him, the distraction allowing him to fall pray to a blast of snow that hit him square in the eyes.  He roared something unpleasant, staggering back in temporary blindness.

She grinned, coming at him with a spinning kick that was aimed at his neck.

He caught her leg and slammed her to the ground, bringing her to the mercy of his sword for moments until she backflipped to her feet and aimed a punch which caught him in the chest, then dodged to avoid his sword and landed gracefully on the railing of the inn's veranda.

"Not bad," the man flipped his sword back into its sheath and brought out a knife.

"You think that puny thing will help…?" she laughed.

A grin, "Oh…you'll see," he brought out two more and dropped into a fighting stance.

She jumped off the railing to meet him and the two began to circle each other once more.

The first dagger sailed through the air and caught her in the leg, bringing her to the ground with an astonished shriek.  "I told you," he gave her another grin, "What do you want?!"

She merely snarled and spat at him.

"Fine," he threw another one which caught her in the opposite leg, leaving her completely pinned from the waist down.

"Why should I tell you?"

He put the third one away and brought out his sword once more, "I didn't want to hurt a lady…" he slashed her across her neck forcefully, "But then I realized…hey, you ain't no lady!"

The wolf growled, sinking its jaws into Kuja's neck.

He drew in his breath at the sudden jolt of agony, then realized the wolf had not hurt him fatally – on purpose, it seemed.  He looked up to see it watching the fight.

The woman placed her hand on the end of her opponent's sword, freezing the entire blade, then sent out a second blizzard – this one far bigger than the first and more than enough to blind all four.

Kuja used the temporary distraction of a whistle to worm his way out from under the wolf's paw – suddenly feeling himself swept up onto a horse which galloped off.

"Too big!" it was the woman.

"Kali – it doesn't matter, I got it in him – lets just go."

"Garm…"

"Behemoth got her.  We've done what we came to do."

"Not yet…" a beam of ice followed the receeding horse and Kuja's savior was forced to duck.

The redhead frowned, "'Bitch has a friggin' attitude…" he turned to Kuja, "You okay?  The other one must have made off with your friend – sorry - about the wound, too…"

"Shiva? Impossible…" he turned to the man, "Not you're fault…just tell me you're name."

"Blank…you're Kuja, right?  I worked with Zidane – he's a good friend."

"Zidane…" the silver-haired genome seemed to consider this, "Do you know where he is?"

Blank nodded, "With Garnet…QUEEN Garnet…up at the castle," he pointed, then chuckled, "But you already know where that is…I'd say he's got his hand's full with all the stuff that's been happening recently.  He'll probably want to see you…'told me about what happened with the Iifa tree."

"'Stuff'?" Kuja seemed to have tuned out the rest of Blank's comment, rubbing at his hurt and then wincing, "What kind of 'stuff'?"

"Well, I don't know much…" Blank absently stroked his horse's neck, momentarily taking his eyes off of Kuja, who was seated behind him, "But apparently, two guys that nobody's ever seen suddenly showed up at the castle.  One with an interesting little item he calls a 'gun'…its more powerful then a sword, apparently.  The other guy looks a bit like you…he's been at the castle a few days longer then the one with the gun…name's…" he frowned, "Sephiroth?  Yeah…and I think his pal is Vince…or Vincenzo…or Vincent…one of those – you get the idea.  I know the last name is Valentine."

Kuja nodded slowly, "Then I'll go to the palace; can you tell me anything else?"

Blank nodded, "Yeah – the palace was attacked the other night by what looked like one of Garnet's Eidolon's…something big is up.  Something very big.  I don't know where that thing is taking your friend…but I have a bad feeling that it's not good…not good at all."

"I kind of figured that – you're a good fighter, neh?  Why don't you join me?"

"Be glad to, but we'd better get you cleaned up and on your own horse first," the redhead grinned, "All right if I bring a friend?"

***

Behemoth landed gracefully outside the cave, still carrying Sarah in his talon.  He made his way down the corridor, finding Kali on a slab healing, Garm lying with his tongue lolling out lazily near her and Tiamit standing in the center of the dome-chamber.  He bowed, shoving Sarah towards her.

"Aha!" she clapped, "So you're Sarah…"

"…"

The smirk widened, "Don't feel like talking, hmm…? I can wait," she turned to Behemoth, "You and Garm take Kali to her chamber to finish healing…I'd like to spend some time alone with the girl."

"As you wish."

Once the Eidolon had withdrawn, Tiamit turned to Sarah and smiled again, "I suppose you're wondering about all of this…how did another set of Eidolons suddenly show up…who am I…" the smile broadened, "Why I look so familiar."

"…"

"Well, I'll tell you, but first!" Tiamit snapped and a blue, glowing braclet appeared around Sarah's wrist, "This will keep you from escaping."

"How do you figure that?"

"Ah!" Tiamit clapped once more, "So you aren't mute after all!" she leaned down very close to Sarah, placing her hand under the younger girl's chin, "If you ever try to pass the entrance of this cave, the bracelet will sap the life out of you in seconds.  Trying to escape in order to warn your friends would be useless…and if you value your life, trying to escape will be impossible.  So," she began to walk around Sarah in circles, "Back to the story.  To start with…I wasn't always called Tiamit.  I became Tiamit when I accepted her."

"Accepted her."

"Accepted her."


End file.
